Why Should We Hire You?

All job interview questions ultimately boil down to this one: “Why should we hire you?” For some, this is a tough question to answer. You don’t want to come across as bragging or conceited, yet you need to explain why they should hire you over the other presumably qualified candidates. You are the only person who can answer this question: you can answer it in a positive way that sets you apart and tells them why they need you.

Below are two winning ways to answer this question, one if you have experience and another if you don’t have as much experience as the job requires.

If You Have The Experience To Do The Job

The ideal answer tells them that you have what they want, plus something extra. You will need to know what the job requirements are for this role and how your skill set matches up, but it’s the something extra that really sets you apart from your competition. You need to point out what that is and how it can help you not just meet, but exceed their expectations for the role.

Things To mention

1-2 specific accomplishments that highlight you as someone who would be great in this role

Your cultural fit with the company (and how your references will back that up)

Sample Answer

“I have skills that meet the qualifications you’ve asked for, and I’ve done this work successfully in the past. I am a great fit culturally as you will see when you speak with my references. Everything in my past demonstrates that I’ve done this before, and I will do it again. It’s my understanding this is what you want in a candidate - do you agree?”

Ending by asking “do you agree?” or “is that correct?” helps you communicate clearly with the interviewer; it confirms that you have answered the question to their satisfaction.

If You Don’t Have Experience (Or Only Limited Experience)

This is a common question for new graduates or for those who are pursuing a new career path. They have legitimate concerns about you, but they are interested or they wouldn’t be speaking with you. All you need to do is help them think about this issue a little differently. Everyone has to start somewhere, and now is a good time to remind them of that.

Option 1 – Turn the Tables

You can tactfully remind them that at one time they didn’t have any experience either by saying something similar to, “When you first started, you didn’t have any experience and it’s obviously turned out well. Would you hire you again?”

They should be nodding along with you (always a great thing), acknowledging your logic and reducing the impact of your lack of experience.

Option 2 – Ask About Others They Have Hired

Chances are they have hired others with no experience, or very little experience. So you might ask, “Have you ever hired anyone who didn’t have specific experience in this field? There may have been a few times that it didn’t work out, but there must have been times where it worked out wonderfully.”

They will probably say yes and begin telling you about what happened. Then you can say, “That’s great. I can be that person because I can take those same skill sets and deliver those same kinds of results.”

The Ultimate Solution

The perfect way to address any question of your experience is to say, “I’m glad you asked. I’ve put a lot of thought into how I can be especially successful in this role and I’d like to talk it over with you.”

Then you bring out your plan for how you will approach the role in the first three months on the job, eliminating any experience objection while you have their attention.

Conclusion

Anything you can do to show them how you can be successful, or a reason why you can be successful, will connect the dots for them and help them see why they should hire you.

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